Forgotten Promises, Forgotten Debts
by Leonaria Dragonbane
Summary: Logan can't handle the mansion after Jean's death, Marie is hiding a secret.  The two of them take off together on a cage fighting expedition, little knowing their every move is being watched...and something is following, watching and waiting to strike.
1. Chapter 1

Forgotten Promises, Forgotten Debts

All the usuals, don't own them, wish I did, and I could not have to work the grind, blah blah blah...

Logan can't handle the mansion after Jean's death, and Marie is hiding a secret. The two take off together on a little cage fighting expedition, not realizing they are being followed, but is this pursuit to help or hinder?

As always look for Victor Goodieness - or maybe not - in this one but I am writing another pure Rogan.

Chapter 1

Marie watched him walk down to the graves. He'd been going down there every day since they got back from Alcatraz and she never in her life thought she'd see him broken. She wished he'd let her help him, but he'd barely spoken to her since she got back.

"Hey, Chica what are you doing hanging out here?" Jubilee came up behind her. She saw Logan out the window and just said "Ohhh…so did you and Bobby make up after this last fight or is he available again."

"If you're askin' for Kitty, he's available okay, Ah'm tired of it." She said softly.

"What'd he do this time?" Jubes sat down on the bench seat.

"He just don't like takin' no for an answer, just cuz I can touch now don't mean Ah want ta go all tha way with him." She sat down next to Jubilee, watching Logan talk to Jean's gravestone just made her depressed.

"Well, with the cure…I mean he has ta think…"

"I know." She still hadn't told anyone, they all thought she'd taken it. She'd met a girl in line, and the two of them had started talking, a man behind her pushed on her to get the line moving and she'd brushed against her new friend, and somehow she'd stopped the pull, one accident and she'd found the switch in her head that gave her control.

"So are ya gonna break up with him?" Jubilee asked, and Marie just glared at her.

"Ah already did."

"Oh…so you wouldn't mind if…well, I asked him out?" Jubilee was actually blushing.

"Ah thought he and Kitty…." Bobby had tried to explain that he was just trying to make Kitty feel at home with the whole ice skating thing, but she didn't believe him.

"Oh hell no, Kitty and Pete have been together for months." Jubilee grinned.

"Well, sure if you can deal with Mr. Ice Hands Octopus, go for it." Marie said, not even feeling a wince of jealousy, not like she did when she looked out the window and saw Logan kneeling at a gravestone. She needed to get away from here, before someone figured out her secret.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, Red, I ain't been able ta tell anyone, what your dyin' did ta me. Storm wants me ta talk about it, but how do I talk about déjà vu while killin' the woman I love. I know I've done it before, I just don't know when – or who." He stroked the name on the stone, the earth still freshly turned. It had only been three weeks since they put her there. "And then there's the kid…she's hidin' something, and I can't seem ta figure out what. I just can't stay here anymore. It's too raw, and I need ta kick some ass and things are way too quiet. I know you would say 'I was right, you're the bad guy…the one you fuck but don't take home ta mom.' And maybe you're right. Maybe I need ta stop fightin' it. I'm tryin, Jeanie, tryin ta be the good guy, the one that sticks around."

He laid the red roses on the grave, and looked toward the mansion. He thought he saw movement in one window, and shrugged. He didn't care if anyone saw him here. He started back up the lawn but took a sudden left, toward the garage. He needed a drink. He'd done that a lot the last three weeks, go down to Case's and drink till the place closed and then come back to try to sleep. He was getting tired of the rut.

He was checking the bike, trying to decide if he was really going to get on and head to town when she came out the door from the house.

"You runnin' again?"

"No, just thinking about goin' ta Case's for a drink." He said running his hands over the bike, somehow he couldn't look at her much anymore; it caused a painful ache in his gut.

"Well, if ya do…run…can Ah come to?" That did make him look up.

"You and iceprick?"

"Broke up three days ago, no one noticed. Got tired of sayin' no." She gave him a wry smile. He took a sniff of the air, she wasn't lying…but there was something she was hiding.

"Why?"

"Ah got mah reasons, Ah need ta get away, Ah'm feelin' confined, and all tha looks like Ah've betrayed everyone…Ah just can't take much more." That he understood, more than she knew. She wasn't the only one they looked at like that. They looked at him too, for killing her, for not saving the professor, for not getting there in time to save Scott.

"Pack a bag, we're takin the truck." He said.

"You're serious?"

"Yep. I need a cage, I'm following the circuit, ain't gonna be pretty or easy." He glared at her, and she grinned. He just shook his head and grabbed the keys to the black pick-up truck from the board. "You pack; I'll clear it with Storm."

That took longer than expected, at first she fought him, and then when she found out he was taking Rogue she flat forbade it, then she pleaded, then begged and finally, as Rogue came in the door, gave in and handed him a wad of cash from the safe.

"Let's go kid." He said simply as he took the cash and grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair. He looked at Rogue for the first time and realized she had his bag packed too. He grunted and she followed him to the truck. She threw their bags in the back and climbed into the cab.

"Here, you handle that, just make sure we have enough for entry fees for the fights." He said, tossing her the wad of cash and then backing the truck out of the garage.

"You got it." She said, stuffing the money into a pocket of her green coat.

They drove in silence for several hours, and he glanced at her occasionally. She was staring out the window, lost in thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The first day wasn't bad. Logan was quiet and she knew he wasn't going to press her for any more answers. She wasn't sure why he'd asked her to come, and she wasn't sure why she agreed to go. She loved him, sure, but she knew he though of her as 'the kid' someone to look out for and protect, not a woman, not someone he would ever see as a partner or a mate, and the him in her head kept advising her to remain 'the kid' at least for now.

"We stoppin' ta eat?" He finally asked. They were almost to the border and she knew it would be easier to stop and eat before hand.

"Sure, Ah'm getting hungry." She didn't even realize it was the first thing she'd said since he handed her the money.

"Break-up with Iceprick that bad?' He asked, and she could hear concern in his voice.

"Not really, he just kept pushin for something Ah ain't ready for yet." She said. "Ah got tired of sayin' no and told him ta go find someone else ta give him his first fuck."

"Kid…was that necessary."

"Actually, yeah." She made a decision. Keeping secrets from Logan was never easy, better to just tell him. "Especially with the you in mah head givin' me hell."

"Me in your head?" He pulled into a diner parking lot. She started to open the door but he grabbed her arm…her uncovered arm. "I thought you took the cure…and those were gone?"

"No…Ah learned ta control it when Ah was in line, and decided it wasn't worth givin' it up, not if Ah could turn it on and off."

"And I'm the only person you've told?"

"Yeah."

"Why?" He looked angry. She knew that only the truth would work.

"Because, Ah didn't want everyone else ta say 'Ah told ya so' and after everything that happened, it just didn't seem the time, but if we're gonna be on the road, and with finding out the cure is temporary, Ah didn't want ya worryin' about it wearin off and accidentally drainin ya before a fight or somethin'. Can we eat now, Ah'm starved."

He just looked at her a moment and she watched him take a sniff to see if she was lying. She wasn't, that was in a nutshell why she hadn't told anyone, and why she was telling him now. It wasn't some big gesture of wanting him to be the first to know because she loved him, she wasn't stupid, and knew he wouldn't respect her if it was. She knew that he wasn't interested in her like that anyway.

"You sure, kid?"

"Ah'm sure, my stomach thinks mah throats been cut, can we eat?"

"Sure, kid." He actually smiled the first one since he got back and she smiled back and jumped out of the truck.

Dinner was burgers and fries and her telling him about Jubilee and Bobby. He nearly choked on a french fry when she told him Jubes had asked if she minded if she asked Bobby out.

"The boy better watch out, the Firecracker isn't someone to mess with." He laughed.

They climbed back in the truck and made for the border crossing. She'd remembered to grab their paperwork so the crossing was easier than anything but flying over it in the blackbird.

"So, a week, maybe ta get far enough from the border ta be able ta enter the cages without suspicion, and we just follow the cage." He said.

"Motels?"

"When we can afford it, we'll get a camper for the back for when we can't. If ya don't like it, go back to the mansion."

"Sounds cozy." She grinned at him, and he grinned back, echoes of their meeting making them both a little lighter of heart.

They stopped about two hours after dark, a double motel room. She curled up in one bed, tired, but feeling a huge weight off of her for the first time since before Stryker attacked the school. She hadn't realized just how much pressure she'd been under until it was gone.

"I'm gonna go find a bar, get a drink, and maybe somethin' else." He grunted.

"Bring back breakfast, and wear a condom, you can't get sick, but that don't mean you can't get someone pregnant, or spread somethin' gross." She said as she turned on the TV.

"Ha ha." He grunted as he closed the door. "Don't wait up."

"Ah won't…don't forget breakfast."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The bar was dark, and no one gave him any trouble. He noticed a red head at the end of the bar and decided today was his lucky day. He sent her a drink and she came down and started talking. He didn't pay much attention to what she said, nodding and grunting when it seemed she wanted a response. Her chest was about the right size and if she didn't move with Jean's grace it wouldn't matter when he was pounding her to the mattress.

"So you want to go back to my place?' She asked finally.

"Sure do, Darlin." He said and she slipped an arm around him. He followed her down the street, a faint scent the only thing that disturbed his pursuit, and that was only for a second.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He watched from the shadows. He thought he'd been scented, once but his prey just moved on, arm around a cheap whore. Why he was chasing that piece of trash when he had the frail with the skin back at the motel he didn't know. He watched from the window, his sharp ears picking up the sounds of their rutting, his prey reaching his climax and screaming a name, "JEAN!" He grunted and moved away. His prey wasn't ready yet. When the time was right, when that scream changed, when he stopped picking redheads and went for mahogany brunettes then...then would be the time to strike.


	2. Chapter 2

Forgotten Promises, Forgotten Debts

All the usuals, don't own them, wish I did, and I could not have to work the grind, blah blah blah...

Logan can't handle the mansion after Jean's death, and Marie is hiding a secret. The two take off together on a little cage fighting expedition, not realizing they are being followed, but is this pursuit to help or hinder?

As always look for Victor Goodieness - or maybe not - in this one but I am writing another pure Rogan.

Chapter 2

Marie woke up the next morning to the smell of biscuits and sausage, and the sound of bags rattling as the door opened.

"mmm Ah smell food." She grinned as she sat up. Logan smiled at her and dropped the bags on the table. She jumped up and opened one. Inside were several individually wrapped packages and she grinned grabbing three.

"Hungry, Kid?" He asked, laughing as she tore into them.

"Ah'm starved, somethin about bein able ta control it makes me hungry." She said.

He looked a little worried at that. "It takes energy to control it?"

"Prob'ly" She said around a mouthful of biscuit.

"Then you should probably relax when no one's around, Darlin." He said grabbing his own breakfast out of the bag.

"Ah try to, but sometimes at night Ah forget and wake up starved." She said, opening the second package.

"I'll try to remember to remind you." He said, sitting down.

"Ah see you got some frustration out last night." She said, noticing the smear of lipstick on the collar of his leather jacket.

"Yeah...I did." He looked at her, and she smiled at him. He just shook his head and continued to eat.

"So where to now?" She asked. "Ah counted the money Ro gave us and there's about four thousand dollars there."

"Well that's good, entry fees are about fifty bucks, so we will be able to afford motels for a while. Heading north and west, we'll hit the cages in about three days." He opened his second bundle as she reached for a fourth.

"Slow down, Kid."

"Sorry, Ah'm just hungry."

"It's okay. We'll stop for lunch I promise." He chuckled, but his eyes still looked worried. She smiled at him, and daintily ate the biscuit even though she really wanted to swallow it whole.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Logan watched as she went into the bathroom to get a shower before they took off. She'd ended up killing off five of the biscuits he'd brought, they were going to have to stop for lunch now, he'd been planning on driving straight through. Something was pushing him, driving him north and west, the lake was almost due north so it couldn't be that, but something was north-west of here and he was going to find out what. He caught a glimpse of her back in the mirror and started to look away, but then she turned and he caught his breath at the curve of her breast, the dip of her waist and the mound of mahogany curls between her thighs.

He gulped and forced himself to look away. Shit she wasn't much of a kid anymore. He swallowed hard, really glad for the moment she didn't have his senses, or she'd smell that there was more to him than just a friend. He'd been fighting this moment for years, watching her grow, knowing that when he finally saw her as a woman, he was going to fall and hard.

The water started running, giving him a chance to pack his bag and get it loaded in the truck. He thought he caught that familiar scent again, but it was too faint to completely recognize. He lit a cigar and waited until she came out, dressed and covered in her duster. She tossed her bag in the back, and opened the passenger side of the truck.

"Got everything?"

"Yep."

"Lets hit the road." He climbed in, and for a second, he thought he caught that scent again, but he still couldn't place it.

"Everythin' okay?" She asked as he closed the door.

"Yeah, Kid. Just thought I smelled somethin'." He turned the key and backed the truck out of the space in front of the room. "Got any problem drivin straight through tonight?" He asked.

"Why?"

"Got a lead on a fight, but to make it we'd have to drive through so I could pay the entry fee in time." He said. She just shrugged.

"Sounds good ta me. Ah can always sleep in the truck, or drive if ya need rest before the fight."

"No, was planning on getting there a couple hours early, pay the fee, take a nap before the fight."

"Motel then?"

"Yep."

"Can Ah come watch the fight?" He looked over at her and grinned.

"I wouldn't have brought ya if that wasn't a part of the plan. And wear somethin' low cut...if you can distract them they won't notice me healin as much." He grinned.

She pretended to be shocked, and then laughed. "Ah may have ta buy somethin..."

"Okay while I nap, take some cash and go shopping." He flicked the cigar ash into the ash tray. "You're gettin' quite a rack there, Kid."

"Ah ain't sure that's a compliment." She growled at him, sounding surprisingly like him.

"Of course it is. You're growin up, won't be able ta call ya Kid much longer, Marie." He said, more to himself than to her.

"Sure ya can...we still don't know how old you are, hell even the professor might be jail bait for all we know, compared ta you." He winced, but she was right...not that the professor did anything for him, certainly not like his glimpse of her in the mirror had.

XXXXXXXXX

He watched as they climbed into the black truck. The frail smelled off, like she was sick, or over doing her mutation. The prey seemed concerned, but from the smell of arousal, he was definitely moving forward in the plan. He still seemed determined to continue the course however, and they pulled out of the motel parking lot.

He climbed on the bike and gunned it, pulling out into traffic. He'd listened at the window this morning and had a good idea where his prey was heading. Once on the circuit he could control where they went. His plan was perfect, when he was ready to strike he'd guide them to the target zone.

He stopped at a light and pulled an old, beat up photo out of his coat pocket. He didn't even glance at it, just growled low, waiting for the light to change. He growled again as he realized he was caressing the image, and stuffed it back into his pocket.

"Soon." he purred the word to the empty air. "Soon."


	3. Chapter 3

Forgotten Promises, Forgotten Debts

All the usuals, don't own them, wish I did, and I could not have to work the grind, blah blah blah...

Logan can't handle the mansion after Jean's death, and Marie is hiding a secret. The two take off together on a little cage fighting expedition, not realizing they are being followed, but is this pursuit to help or hinder?

As always look for Victor Goodieness - or maybe not - in this one but I am writing another pure Rogan.

Chapter 3

The truck stopping woke her up. They were in front of another seedy motel, and she was getting tired of the routine already. He'd rent a room, drop her off, tell her to get all dolled up, go pay the entry fee, and then find a trollop to fuck before the fight. He was off his prime, which for him still meant he won the fights, but they lasted longer, and people sometimes noticed his healing, no matter how low she wore her top.

This was the sixth cage, and he'd made pretty good money, but they were spending it faster than he made it, she was eating them out of it. It was taking more and more food to keep her control going, sometimes it would drop, last night she'd nearly passed out, but he hadn't noticed. She was starving now, but knew he wanted to get his fee paid and get his rocks off before the fight.

"Logan, please don't forget to bring me somethin' ta eat before the fight." She whispered as she opened the door of the truck. She stepped out, and promptly collapsed.

She barely felt him lift her from the ground, and knew she had to be hallucinating.

"Marie, Darlin', you can't be sick, come on, turn it on and touch me, please, Baby, please, I need you, Marie." She felt him put her on the bed, and slapped her hard,

She shook her head.

"Logan, what happened?"

"You passed out. Turn your mutation on so you can borrow from me." He said.

"No, you need your strength for the fight." Her head was swimming. Suddenly it didn't seem like such a bad idea. She turned it on for a split second, and pulled his factor enough to stabilize her. "God Ah'm hungry."

"Okay, tonight we eat first, and you're leaving it on. Cover up."

"Logan, Ah'm fine."

"No, you're not, you're eating like a horse, but you're not gaining any weight, in fact you've lost quite a bit, I mean it, Kid, leave it on tonight and rest."

"Fine." She said as he walked out the door to grab their bags.

He dropped them in a corner and motioned her to come with him. She followed him out to the truck and they went down the street to a restaurant.

She ordered her dinner, and waited for the food to get there. When her mutation was on she just didn't use as much energy. Controlling it had been a major breakthrough but she had to find a way to control the energy flow, or it was going to kill her.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Logan watched her eat, she smelled like she was feeling better, not as drained. She'd barely pulled anything from him, and seemed to be fine. He just hoped she hadn't picked up his thoughts, or he was going to have some serious explaining to do.

"Tonight, Kid, I think you should stay at the motel." He said. She looked up at him and he flinched at the hurt in her eyes. "I'm just worried about you." He said softly.

"Ah'm fine now. Ah want ta come ta the fight."

"Marie, you need rest."

"Ah'll leave it on, and Ah'll be fine."

"Marie, either you stay in the motel tonight or I'm putting you in that truck and drivin' you right back to the mansion." He glared at her, knowing he was bluffing. He wouldn't take her back, his instincts were on overdrive. She was his mate, Wolverine had figured it out and there was no way the animal was going to let him give her up.

He was fighting it, hard, she was still too young, especially for a jaded bastard like him. He watched her picking at her food and realized she was upset about something.

"Marie."

"Ah'm not goin' back. Ah made it all the way from Mississippi ta Laughlin City by myself, Ah can survive without you." She snapped at him.

"Fine, come to the damned fight, but don't expect me to stop if you collapse again. I'm fightin for money, not you." He wanted to take the words back as soon as he said them, the hurt look on her face disappeared in an instant but he'd seen it. "Marie, you're not well right now, and I'm worried."

"Well, worry about someone else, Ah won't bother ya durin the fight." She said and stubbornly refused to say anything else. She finished the plate in front of her and declined desert, which really had him concerned.

They walked to the truck in silence, and he drove to the bar. He made sure she was set in a corner where he could see her from the cage, and ordered her a soda. She glared but didn't say a word.

He shrugged, he didn't have time to think about it, not now. He put his money down on the registration table, and stretched his neck, popping the metal bones to loosen up. He ordered a whiskey and told them to leave the bottle and waited for the first round. He kept looking over at her but she stubbornly refused to look at him.

"Logan?" An old timer came up to him, and he started at hearing his name.

"Do I know you?" He asked.

"It's been years, you haven't changed a bit. You and Kayla just took off, we never did know what happened to ya. Your place is still up on the mountain, as far as I know."

Logan looked at the man, hoping for any spark of recognition, anything to give him a clue as to what the old man was talking about. He just shook his head.

"Sorry, I just don't remember." He said.

"Shit, after those government men showed up, you got kinda spooked, we figured you and the Fox girl split out."

"What government men?"

"Lordy, Son, that was nearly twenty years ago. Middle aged guy with a younger oriental man, shot a cigar right outa your mouth." The old timer chuckled.

Logan still shook his head. Nothing was registering. He glanced over to the corner and Marie was sitting there looking bored. He heard the microphone pop and knew they'd be starting the cage soon.

"I'm fightin' soon, I'd like ta talk to ya later." He said to the old timer, any clue to his past was a start."

"Sure think, Son, that you're new fillie in the corner, you're watchin?" The old man elbowed him.

"She's a friend." Logan said.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the first round will be Wolverine vs Roger." He stood up and shook the old man's hand.

"We'll talk later, and thank you." He said as he entered the cage.

"Sure thing, Son." The old man said, and walked toward the bar.

XXXXXXXX

He watched her from the corner. She was bored, and he'd waited days to get them to this place, the old man had been an added perk, a tease for...the prey. He waited, sitting down wind, knowing it would take at least twenty minutes for his scent to reach the cage, for the prey to look up and realize the corner was empty.

He moved quietly through the crowd, and even the waitress didn't see him drop the sedative into the soda she brought the frail. He waited about five minutes before slipping up behind her, hand slipping onto her shoulder.

"Hello frail." He said softly. "Don't scream, you know what I can do to all these nice innocent people. Let's just move outside, quietly."

She jumped under his hand, recognition seeping through her scent. "Sabretooth. Whadda you want?"

"You, frail. Now move." He said softly. He had about three more minutes before the cage exploded and he needed to get her out of here. He gripped tight, letting his claws slip through the fabric of her duster and clothes, and smiled at her wince. She stood up slowly, dragging her feet. He pushed her out the exit, and doubled up his fist and hit her across the back of the head. He didn't need her awake for this part.

He strapped her into the truck he was currently driving, and grabbed the first clue to leave in the prey's vehicle. He took the old shirt and rubbed it over her face and exposed skin, getting her scent mingled with his. That should piss the prey off good. He grinned as he tossed it into the truck, and headed up the mountain.


	4. Chapter 4

Forgotten Promises, Forgotten Debts

All the usuals, don't own them, wish I did, and I could not have to work the grind, blah blah blah...

Logan can't handle the mansion after Jean's death, and Marie is hiding a secret. The two take off together on a little cage fighting expedition, not realizing they are being followed, but is this pursuit to help or hinder?

As always look for Victor Goodieness - or maybe not - in this one but I am writing another pure Rogan.

Chapter 4

Logan caught the scent, the one that had been bothering him for days, the one that stayed just out of recognition level, but not now. He knew that scent, he'd kicked that bastard's ass on top of the statue, when he saved Rogue. Sabretooth. He looked toward her corner to try to warn her but she wasn't there. He glanced toward the bathroom and took a punch to the face for the trouble. He threw a punch, but was scanning the room for either one of them. There was no sign of her and her scent, and his were fading. They'd both left the bar. He shrugged and let the idiot punching on him take him down.

He crawled out of the cage and grabbed his shirt. He walked over to her seat, but found more questions than answers. His scent was there, strong, so was hers, but he didn't scent fear, at least not at the level he'd expect with her encountering Sabretooth again. She'd had nightmares about him for almost a year after the kidnapping, she'd finally told him about them about three days ago. He should have listened when she said she'd thought she'd seen him, except with shorter hair and dressed in regular clothes.

He pulled his shirt on, and moved quickly out the door to the truck. He opened the door and the scent hit him, a shirt, one of hers that she'd tossed after getting a stain on it, but it had been near his body, both of their scents on it, and hers fresh, as if just recently touching her skin. He let out a low growl, and something the old man said clicked in his mind. A place on the mountain, private, someplace Sabretooth could torture her in peace before killing her and no one would know...but he would. The route to the cabin was clear in his mind, for the first time in over twenty years. He got in the truck and gunned out of the bar parking lot.

"Hold on, Marie. I'm comin.'" He whispered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

She shook her head, feeling fuzzy, and a knot on the back of her head. She was tied, hands to feet, laying on her side on a couch. She saw him sitting facing a fireplace the chair backwards, the back against his chest as he looked at something in his hand. The flickering light from the fire cast shadows over his face

"Awake frail?" He said, and she just grunted.

"Good for you, you've got fight, spirit. That'll make it better when I have ta kill ya. It's nothin' personal, not against you, kid." He said, almost softly. She wasn't sure if she should be more afraid or angry.

"I figure you have the right ta know why I'm gonna kill you. He had to fall for ya, had to see you as his before this would work."

"What?" She didn't care, she was angry, and curious now.

"I made him a promise once. I told him no one would kill him but me...and now, I've got ta kill somethin' in him, kill you, his one chance at happiness." He held something in his hands but she couldn't see it.

"Why, you almost sound like ya care about him? Why would ya do that?" She struggled a little to sit up, he didn't even look over, his dismissal of her as a threat pissing her off even more.

"I do. More than anyone ever has, or will. I raised him, taught him everything he knows about survivin', fightin', killin' and even with frails." He looked over at her and she was shocked by the look on his face. It was pain, pure and simple, something had him twisted up in pure agony.

"How?"

"He's my brother, half-brother actually."

"That's not possible..."

"Darlin' I was there when he was born, I wiped his nose and his ass for eleven years before those damned claws came out and he shoved them through our father's chest, killin' him. Then we ran...for years, fightin any war we could find, that healin makin us perfect soldiers." She looked at him in shock.

"You can't be." She whispered again.

He laughed, a bitter sound, "Darlin, I can and I am, and I need my brother ta do somethin for me, and you're my leverage. He made me a promise, twenty years ago, told me we were done. I'm gonna remind him, I am still the big brother, and I still control him." He snarled at her.

"What's that?" She asked, somehow knowing he wasn't much of a threat, yet.

"None of your business, Miss Nosey."

"If I'm gonna die, I get to ask some questions." She snapped back. He snarled, then looked at what was in his hands.

"James isn't the only one who's lost things over the last twenty years. He ain't the only one to be hurt, to be ripped apart. He owes me, and I'm gonna make him pay."

"Sabretooth..." She started, and he lunged out of the chair, pinning her to the back of the old sofa.

"NEVER call me that." He snarled. "That animal has nothin' ta do with this."

"Then what...?"

"Victor. Victor Creed." He hissed in her face. She heard the sound of a car door, and he grabbed her, one arm across her throat, placing her between him and the door. "Romeo's here."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He waited, the frail's breathing warm on his arm. He smiled in anticipation. Soon. Soon it would all be over. The door exploded inward and James stood there, his metal claws gleaming in the firelight.

"Hello, Jimmy Boy, I thought I'd come for a visit, but you'd moved out, so I just made myself at home. I hope you don't mind, I mean brothers are brothers right?"


	5. Chapter 5

Forgotten Promises, Forgotten Debts

All the usuals, don't own them, wish I did, and I could not have to work the grind, blah blah blah...

Logan can't handle the mansion after Jean's death, and Marie is hiding a secret. The two take off together on a little cage fighting expedition, not realizing they are being followed, but is this pursuit to help or hinder?

As always look for Victor Goodieness - or maybe not - in this one but I am writing another pure Rogan.

Chapter 5

"Get your hands off her, Sabretooth." Logan snarled.

"No...I don't think so. She's my guarantee you don't stick those metal barbs of yours in me till I'm ready. And I ain't ready yet." She felt him chuckle against her back, his arm tightening around her throat. He was being careful, not touching her skin.

"So tell me James, what is it that keeps you from just breakin' down and fuckin this piece of ass." Victor snarled, his free hand stroking Marie's hair, and running down her side, reaching up to cup her breast and squeeze, claws cutting her shirt and skin. "Not like you, brother, only frail you ever held back with was Mariko, and she wasn't a frail."

"Mariko...who?' Logan had gone from full rage to confused rage, and Marie suddenly wasn't so sure of their chances of getting out of here unscathed.

"You're wife." Creed's hand moved down to her thigh, pressing intimately against her through her jeans. She struggled against him, that was just going too far. "Of course she'd dead, you killed her." She started at that. Logan had killed another woman he loved...no wonder Jean bothered him so much.

"Logan don't..." She felt his hand grip hard, claws digging into her thigh muscle.

"NEVER use that name. His name is James. Use it." She cried out from the pain in her leg. "I can't imagine him not getting a piece of this." He purred against her ear, claws retracting and his hand rubbing against her again. She tried to move her head to bite him but he tightened his choke hold around her neck and she nearly blacked out.

"...off her." Logan was prowling, claws out looking for an opening. Marie glanced around and her eyes landed on the piece of paper he'd had in his hand. It had fallen, almost unnoticed on the floor and she gasped. Suddenly she understood exactly what was going on.

"Maybe I'll just take a piece in front of ya. Startin' ta smell real nice, brother." Creed was saying.

"Lo...James, don't. He wants you to attack. He wants you to watch him kill me so you'll go nuts and try to kill him." She shouted.

"SHUT UP BITCH!" Creed snarled.

"Don't let him manipulate..." He choked off her air again but this time, she fought back, he wasn't watching what he was doing and she pressed her cheek to his. He gasped as her skin started to draw on him, and pulled back, letting her go as he dropped to the floor. He saw the photograph and grabbed it.

"I told you, you were too nosy." He snarled.

Logan lunged, his claws under Victor's chin, ready to shove them in, but Marie shouted "No! Look at the picture Logan."

Victor snarled at her, but Logan snatched the picture out of his hand. Victor suddenly seemed to collapse, snatching for the picture, almost like a child.

"Who are they?"

"None of your business." Victor actually whimpered, and that was when Marie noticed the barely contained tears.

"Logan, could ya cut me loose." He glanced over, and almost without looking sliced the ropes binding her hands and ankles together.

"Who are they, Victor?" She asked, putting a hand on Logan's arm. Logan backed up an inch at her touch. Victor just snarled and his arm lunged forward, but she wouldn't let go. "Please, tell us. If what you say is true, if he's your brother, then he has a right to know."

Victor looked at her, and suddenly Sabretooth was gone, caged behind an overwhelming grief. He let out a shuddering breath, almost a sob, and then looked at her and Logan.

"Crystal. Her name was Crystal. The boy was James, the baby we named Elizabeth after your mother." He said the words through shuddering breaths. Logan backed off as if burned.

"My mother's name...Elizabeth?" Victor just nodded, and reached for the picture again. This time Logan handed it to him, claws slipping back between his knuckles, but keeping one hand clenched at the neck of Victor's shirt.

"What happened to them?" Marie said, trying to ease Logan away from the broken man in front of them.

"I came home from a business trip. I waited at the airport for an hour, I thought she'd forgotten, with Elizabeth teething, so I just took a cab. I opened my front door, James' glove and bat were by the front door, waiting for me to pitch him a few, the baby's play pen was full of toys, and my favorite pot roast was in the crock pot. And that was when it hit me...the lights on my way home in the cab, the car...I grabbed my keys and rushed back. I'll never forget, they'd had to use the Jaws of Life to get Crystal out of the car, but her head was half severed by the glass from the windshield. The baby...she was so perforated with glass she had to have died instantly. James...he'd just started developing the mutation, but his healing couldn't heal..." He stopped, overcome by the memory. His eyes were focused inward, and he took a deep sobbing breath. "...heal his brains across the concrete. The damned drunk driver got off with ten years in prison for second degree manslaughter. I can't even get to the bastard to kill him." He snarled the last.

Logan's fingers loosened as he talked until he finally stepped back and looked at him in shock.

"Victor?" She looked at Logan, his voice was different.

"I WISH I didn't remember. I wish I could forget. KILL me, let me be with them, please." He begged.

"Victor." Logan said raggedly, again, as he pulled the other man into a hug. "No, but we're family, I'll get you through this."

"No, I want to die, I want to be with them." Victor whimpered. Marie looked at him in shock. He was...human, broken, completely vulnerable, and she suddenly remembered something else, someone else who could help.

"Victor, let us help you." She said softly, brushing a gloved hand over his, before gripping it.

"I nearly killed you...kidnapped you, planned on killing you to get him to kill me, and you fucking want to help. You are an idiot, frail." He snarled

"You're family." She said softly. Logan looked at her funny, but then nodded. She moved slowly to the kitchen of the small cabin to make some coffee. He needed to talk, and other than empty bottles scattered in corners, there didn't seem to be any alcohol in the place, so coffee would have to do.

"Marie." Logan said, behind her. "We need ta talk."

"NO!" She turned on Logan - no James, Victor's memories merging with her own. "You need to help your brother."


	6. Chapter 6

Forgotten Promises, Forgotten Debts

All the usuals, don't own them, wish I did, and I could not have to work the grind, blah blah blah...

Logan can't handle the mansion after Jean's death, and Marie is hiding a secret. The two take off together on a little cage fighting expedition, not realizing they are being followed, but is this pursuit to help or hinder?

As always look for Victor Goodieness - or maybe not - in this one but I am writing another pure Rogan.

Chapter 6

He watched her in the kitchen before turning to his...brother. The certainty of that hit him. He knew it, not just knew it but remembered it. He also remembered that he'd never, in his life seen him like this.

"Victor." He pitched his voice low, not knowing how much of his abilities she still had. "I ain't gonna kill ya."

"Please." The word was hisses between his lips. "Let me go to them, let me be with them."

"You can't. They're gone."

"Then let me be gone too. It's been three years...three long years of waiting for her to walk in the door, waiting for Jimmy to ask me to play ball, waiting to hear Bess cry in her crib. 'Tooth took over for a while...but after I fell off the statue, he retreated to lick his wounds and left me to deal with this. I CAN'T deal with this. I have never loved anyone...but you, and she gave me that, she taught me what it was to be human, to be LOVED! And she's gone, in a heartbeat, some drunken asshole took her - took ME away from me. Destroyed everything in my life, except you, except HER. The only two people on this planet that could kill me."

"What does Marie have to do with this."

"I had to wait, I knew you're animal would do it again, would find another mate, it was just a matter of time, and that kid, you care more about her than anything else, but you had to need her, had to love her, to make the animal when I killed her lose control, and destroy me, use those damned claws Stryker gave you to take my head off and end my MISERABEL LIFE!" He roared the last words into his brother's face.

"Not gonna happen." Logan said.

"Maybe...or maybe there's other ways...you don't want the frail to know its her name you scream when you cum in those whores." He heard things clatter in the kitchen, and hoped it was just an accident, that she hadn't heard.

"At first it was the redhead, Jean...you'd scream her name into any redhead you could find, but for the last three weeks, its been 'Marie' and brunettes. I've followed you every fucking night, watched you rut with those stinkin pieces of shit while you had THAT back in your motel room. Just like Mariko, you don't think you're good enough for her, you think you're just gonna fuck things up. You wasted months of your time with Kiko over that crap...and ended up with her on your claws."

"What'd you do?" Logan snarled.

"Not me, dumbass, her father's enemies. They poisoned her at your wedding, she begged you to do it, to kill her...and the cub. She was so cute waddling around with that mountain of a belly, her so tiny, but she was beautiful at the wedding. The only time you ever asked me to do somethin' that didn't involve killing...and ended up with us covered in more blood than the damned Civil War."

"A baby..." Logan dropped back in shock, flashes of memories hitting him. Her porcelain skin, black hair, the pain in her eyes, the pain in his heart as he took her life...like Jean...

"You lost your identity, twenty years ago, I found mine. You promised me we were done, but we're not, we never will be. I promised you no one would kill you but me, until you're frail over there came along. She could do it, she could kill us both. You owe me for hurting her, owe me for drawing you into the trap in the first place. Kill me, end it. You owe me."

"Yes, I do, Victor. I owe you my life, many times over. I owe you for making me strong, for being the big brother. But now its my turn. You're coming back to the mansion with us. We'll help you heal, and then you may find another chance to be human again."

Marie walked over three cups of coffee in her hands.

"Here, sorry it took so long."

"Thanks, Darlin'." Logan said.

She handed him his cup but he could see fire in her eyes. She'd heard alright, she was just waiting until they were alone to say something. He was grateful for that, for a lot of things she did every day, that made life worth living every day. He watched her hand Victor a cup, rest a gloved hand on the shoulder of the man that left the bloodstains on her clothes and realized she really did care, no matter what his brother had done, she'd come to care about him...as family.

"Ah'm gonna step outside a moment." Her voice was cool, and he knew she was boiling mad at him. He was going to have a lot of explaining to do when they had time to talk again.

"Yep, I've been there." Victor gave a sad chuckle.

"Where?"

"In the dog house, and a piece of advice, don't try to buy her something to make up for it, she'll make you regret it the rest of your life."

"Oh look who's giving woman advice." Logan snapped, then winced at the pain on the other man's face. "That's not what I meant. A lot of shit's been coming back, some as you've been talking, some on its own, and I do remember you don't have that much luck with the ladies...usually."

"I just want my family back." Victor said slowly.

"Well, we can't give you that, but I'm your brother, that's family too...and God knows you've looked out for me enough times."

"James, can Ah talk to you a minute." She said from the door. Logan groaned, but turned and walked to the broken door frame. "Ro said we can bring him back, she'll clear a room on the second floor near yours."

"RO said we can bring him back?"

"Well it took a little persuadin, but I got her ta do it." Marie said. "You know how she is about second chances."

XXXXXXX

Marie walked out the front door and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. They couldn't stay here, and Victor needed help, and to be around kids right now. She dialed the school.

"Marie, where are you?" Storm asked as a greeting.

"Somewhere in the Canadian Rockies, don't remember the name of the town. We ran in to Victor Creed."

"I'll send a team."

"No, he's...well he's family and needs help."

"Fami...what? He's an assassin, a hired killer, he tried to kill you, me...twice."

"Three times on me...but we can talk about that later. He lost his wife, his kids in an accident and he's...well broken is the best word Ah can use."

"He threatened to kill me." 

"Trust me Ro, it wasn't blood he had on his mind...and that was Sabretooth, not Victor."

"What do you mean Sabretooth not Victor."

"Ya just have ta trust me Ro, Ah got a pretty good dose of him in mah head right now and he needs us."

"In your...the cure wore off?"

"Ah never took it."

"Rogue?"

"Ah don't want ta talk about it right now, can we bring him or not."

"I want him in a detention cell."

"No, he needs ta be up with the kids, needs ta find one or two ta bond to, learn ta live again."

"Fine I'll put him near Logan, but its your responsibility, the two of you, to make sure no one gets hurt."

"Fine." Marie clicked the phone shut. It was going to be a long drive back to New York but she knew Victor needed the time. They'd all lost people, recently, that they cared about, and she knew grief was easier to carry if it was shared.


	7. Chapter 7

Forgotten Promises, Forgotten Debts

All the usuals, don't own them, wish I did, and I could not have to work the grind, blah blah blah...

Logan can't handle the mansion after Jean's death, and Marie is hiding a secret. The two take off together on a little cage fighting expedition, not realizing they are being followed, but is this pursuit to help or hinder?

As always look for Victor Goodieness - or maybe not - in this one but I am writing another pure Rogan.

Chapter 6

She was right the drive to the mansion was torture. Victor sat on the passenger side, and she was stuck between a man who'd tried to kill her and one that preferred fanaticizing about her with a whore instead of being with her. She wasn't sure which was worse, Victors growls and snarls, or when he broke down in tears calling his wife's name in his sleep. Logan insisted on driving straight through but she wasn't going to say anything to him about what was bothering her until they could talk in private.

"Darlin' you've got ta talk to me sometime." He whispered.

"When we get him home and settled, Ah ain't airin' dirty laundry in front o' your brother." She hissed back. She heard a snort from her other side and barely resisted the urge to elbow him. "Ah want a hot bath, clean clothes, a good meal that I'm not wolfin' down just ta keep body and spirit together, and then, after Ah've had time ta think, THEN we'll talk."

"Okay, I was talkin' about general conversation, I kinda figured all that." He said.

"Ah ain't in tha mood ta carry on general conversation with a two timin jerk like you." She hissed back.

"Sounds like you're doin' it ta me...and keepin me awake in the process, princess." Victor growled.

"And Ah ain't your princess..." She snapped.

"No...you're not." She tried to hide her eye roll as he covered his face with his hands and broke down again. From fierce killing machine to complete depression in less than thirty seconds. They needed to get him someplace where people needed him, make him feel connected again. It had worked for her...for a while, and seemed to help Logan after the first time Jean died. She knew it wasn't perfect, but there were a few new kids that were feral and could use someone to teach them how to use it. Storm wanted Logan to do it but he just didn't have the patience right now, although he'd been very patient with her on this trip.

None of them spoke again until Logan pulled up in front gates of the mansion. They opened with a push of a button and he pulled up to the garage. They unloaded the three duffle bags from the back of the truck and trooped silently into the house. It was almost three in the morning but Storm was there to greet them.

"I see your point, Rogue." She said after giving Creed a once over. "Follow me."

"What the hell did that mean?" he growled.

"You look like hell." Storm said bluntly.

"Gee thanks, Kid." He snarled.

"And...you are welcome to stay. We had some good news while you were gone, somehow the Professor survived Jean's attack, and will be home soon, and said you were to be welcomed and given complete freedom of the mansion and grounds." She didn't sound pleased.

"Xavier...was dead?"

"Yes, Victor, Jean killed him and Scott, then Logan killed Jean. Ah thought you knew all that."

"I knew about the redhead, I was watching at the Island, but I didn't know about the others." He actually reached a hand out to Storm. "I'm sorry for your loss, and really glad to hear Charles is alive."

She took his hand, and Marie let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

XXXXXXX

Logan watched her walk into her room. He wanted to go with her, get this whole thing talked out. She had to know how he felt, but somehow he knew he was in for a very long night if he tried to talk to her tonight.

"Don't do it." Victor said softly.

"Don't do what?"

"Don't leave her alone."

"She doesn't want ta talk to me right now."

Victor shrugged and opened his door. "Take the advice or don't, I'm the one that was married for almost eleven years."

"Eleven..." Logan stopped and looked at him. "Talk to her huh?"

"Yep. Talk, and two words will save your life...I remember the minister that married us told me this 'there are two words that will save your marriage every time, as long as you mean them. Yes, Dear.'" Logan chuckled and then thought about that for a second.

"Seriously."

"Worked for me." Victor closed the door, a slight sad smile on his face.

Logan walked to his door and opened it, and dropped his bag inside, and then walked back to her door. He knocked softly.

"Go away Logan."

"Marie, we need ta talk."

"Go away."

He tested the door handle and it wasn't locked so he opened it. She was sitting on her bed, back still packed on the floor.

"You runnin?"

"Thinkin about it. Victor needs you...the kids here need you, but no one needs me." She said softly.

"Darlin, I need you." He said, kicking her bag out of the way and kneeling at her feet. "I love you."

"No, if ya did you wouldn't have been fuckin whores instead of me."

"Marie, you're still young, still a kid, and I..." He took her hands in his. "when I do finally claim a woman again, its going to be for good, death do us part shit, not just a quick fuck."

"Ah...Ah'm confused, Ah've got some of Victor's memories, and from what Ah got from him you ain't the settlin' down type. Ah ain't ever gonna hold you down or hold you back, Ah just once wanted you ta see me as a woman, not a kid." He cringed as a drop of moisture trailed down from her lashes, down her road stained cheek, to drop onto his hand, that one drop of moisture burned worse than any pain he'd ever experienced, remembered or not.

"Marie, I've just been waiting, and believe me, after bein' on the road with you, I can't help but see you as a woman, a very beautiful, desirable, sexy, woman that I have no hope of ever being good enough for, memory or not." He leaned his head on her hands in his, begging her to understand.

"Oh shit." Victor said from the door.

"What do you want?" Marie snapped.

"I had ta see this...shit, Bro, put you in armor and you're the picture of a damned knight begging for a favor. Grow some fuckin balls, and give the girl what the hell you both want." He glared at Logan and then glanced at Marie. "Is there a kitchen in this place, I'm hungry."

"Down the hall, last door, the stairs go straight to the kitchen." She said, but didn't move. Logan's hands clenched on hers anyway, afraid she'd pull away.

Victor shook his head and closed the door behind him.

"Marie..." Logan whispered. He tried to keep her from pulling her hands away from his, but was surprised when she pulled her gloves off and touched his face with her bare hands.

"Logan - James, Ah love you. Ah'd wait forever for you, but you'll always be good enough for me. You're all Ah've ever wanted or needed." She kissed him softly.

"Marie." He whispered against the feather light touch of her lips.

"Either stay or don't, but Ah'm sleepin with my control on tonight." She whispered.

He looked up into her beautiful eyes and remembered Victor's advice. He kissed her gently and whispered "Yes, Dear."


	8. Chapter 8

Forgotten Promises, Forgotten Debts

All the usuals, don't own them, wish I did, and I could not have to work the grind, blah blah blah...

Logan can't handle the mansion after Jean's death, and Marie is hiding a secret. The two take off together on a little cage fighting expedition, not realizing they are being followed, but is this pursuit to help or hinder?

As always look for Victor Goodieness - or maybe not - in this one but I am writing another pure Rogan.

Chapter 8

Marie woke up with Logan curled around her in the bed. He'd so tired after driving straight through that he'd just gone to sleep. She tried to slip out from under his arm and he growled softly in her ear.

"No, you're stayin' put this mornin." He whispered

"Ah'm starvin...Ah gotta eat." She said back, he tried to grip her waist but she slipped away and grabbed her robe from the chair near her window.

"Baby...come back to bed.'' He said, sitting up. He'd only kicked his boots off and climbed in bed with her last night, but sometime in the night his top three shirt buttons had come undone. She was almost tempted, but her stomach growled loud enough for both of them to hear.

"Okay I get the point." He growled, but was smiling as he climbed out of bed and pulled on his boots. They slipped out of her room, but the building was quiet. She wondered where all the kids were, but they both heard the doors open downstairs and kids shouting and running to get to their next classes. He grinned and they slipped down to the service stairs that went to the kitchen. She vaguely remembered telling Victor how to find them last night.

Bobby was in the kitchen when they opened the door. "What are you...I mean...welcome back." Logan growled at him and opened the fridge.

"Grab me the eggs, if there are any." Marie said as she moved to the stove. She grabbed one of the skillets and Logan brought her a flat of eggs and a slab of bacon slices.

"Cook enough for two, Darlin." He said, kissing the side of her neck. She wasn't sure if she should be pissed or proud that he was showing off for Bobby's benefit.

"You mean four or six, I ain't seen your brother this mornin'." She said. Victor came stumbling in at that point.

"Mornin' I think." He grumbled.

"Mornin yourself." Logan grumbled but handed him a cigar and a cup of coffee from the fresh pot on the counter. Victor stretched and popped his neck, then grabbed the coffee and cigar and sat down at the table. Marie looked at Bobby and almost held back the giggle at his look of shock, and then thought better of it. She flat laughed, the first time she'd actually laughed in a while.

"Bobby, Victor. Victor, Bobby." She said, introducing them.

Victor just glared and Bobby picked up his glass of milk and took a big drink.

"Nice to meet you." He said quietly, setting the glass down carefully. Victor's senses had finally faded so she couldn't smell his fear but she could see it on his face.

Ro walked in and glared at the three of them.

"Logan, are you going back on the teaching schedule, Jubilation is just not up to the self defense classes?" She asked, sitting down at the table across from Victor, close to Bobby who looked relieved that she was there.

"I can, I'm not goin' anywhere for a while." He looked over at Victor and brushed his hand against Marie's on the counter. Marie started cracking eggs into a bowl.

"So who wants breakfast?" She asked.

"Lunch, you slept till one." Ro said, "and I'll take some."

Marie looked over at Victor who was staring at his hands on the table. "Victor?"

"Sure kid." She wasn't sure but his voice sounded tentative...or embarrassed.

"Nothing for me, I've got danger room." Bobby said and practically ran out of the room. Marie turned around trying to figure out what was going on. Victor was still looking at his hands and Logan was glaring at Ro.

"What?" Ro said, snapping at Logan.

"That wasn't what I meant Ro." Logan said and Marie glared at him. Something was going on, and she was out of the loop. Marie was tempted to turn on her skin and touch Logan to find out what was going on, but she just wasn't sure he'd forgive her.

"So breakfast for four." She said as she turned back to the skillet. Logan was still glaring at Ro, and sipping his coffee. Marie quickly scrambled the eggs and threw them on a big plate for everyone to help themselves. She pulled the bacon and dropped it on another plate and carried it all to the table. "Now someone tell me what the hell is goin' on."

"I asked Ro to make sure Victor got settled in last night...I didn't ask her to.." 

"JAMES Shut the fuck up." Victor growled.

"It's alright...at least you got your scream." Ro was grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

Victor just looked up at her and grinned, fangs flashing..."Yes, Dear."


End file.
